Critics say 'Kong: Skull Island' has its flaws but is a 'hell of a ride'

This weekend, theatergoers will be entertained by one of cinema's classic monsters, King Kong, in the latest film from Warner Bros.'s MonsterVerse franchise, "Kong: Skull Island."

A departure from the 1933 original and remakes, this one is set in the disruptive Vietnam-era and follows scientists and military as they travel to Skull Island to see what lives on it.

Starring Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly, and John Goodman, many critics were in favor of this entertaining depiction of Kong, as the movie is currently sporting a 79% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But the movie certainly has its problems (see our review). It's projected to earn between $45 million to $50 million this weekend.

Here we break down what the top critics like and dislike about "Kong: Skull Island":

At its core, the movie is extremely entertaining.

From director Jordan Vogt-Roberts' great sense of comic timing to the insane happenings on Skull Island, the movie is fun and thrilling.

"'Kong: Skull Island' enters with lofty ambitions and style to spare," wrote The Playlist. "Whether or not it completely succeeds is open for subjective debate, but damn if it isn't a hell of a ride."

"...the only thing at this movie’s heart is the (admittedly accurate) belief that when a giant ape punches a giant lizard in the face with a boat motor, it looks totally freaking awesome," wrote ScreenCrush.

Don't worry, there's a lot of Kong screen time.

Warner Bros.

WB got a lot of heat for not showing a lot of Godzilla in its standalone 2014 movie. They corrected that error for Kong.

"As soon as the Vietnam-era helicopters enter the Skull Island airspace, they are greeted in a very rude manner by Kong, who effortlessly swats them out of the air," wrote Uproxx.

"If you are a monster movie fan that disliked or felt lukewarm to 'Godzilla' then 'Kong: Skull Island' is the attempt to win you back before both monsters eventually square off," wrote Collider.

The monster fight scenes are worth the ticket price.

Warner Bros.

Yeah, this is pretty much why you should go see this movie.

"People die in creatively graphic ways, and the spectacle of brawling beasts in beautiful, forbidding settings is at times as captivating as it probably was in 1933, when audiences first gaped at Ernest B. Schoedsack and Merian C. Cooper's original 'King Kong,' wrote The Village Voice.

"Fully realistic creatures are now nothing new, but the filmmakers, notably led by visual effects supervisors Stephen Rosenbaum and Jeff White, have engineered scenes of bestial combat that are not only hyper-credible but shot through with unexpected, and often gruesomely funny, moves," wrote The Hollywood Reporter.

But the human characters are forgettable.

Warner Bros.

Hiddleston and Larson have zero chemistry. Reilly is the only scene-stealer of Kong.

"Jackson barks his great vengeance and furious anger. Hiddleston smolders and briefly wields a samurai sword. Larson takes surprisingly few pictures for a photographer, but she does get her Fay Wray moment," wrote Entertainment Weekly.

"Reilly easily steals the picture from his colleagues, giving Marlow a lot of heart while gleefully delivering most of the best lines," wrote Den of Geek.

And when will Kong fight Godzilla?

Warner Bros.

We're getting there.

Be sure to stick around for the post-credit scene of "Kong: Skull Island," as it will (SPOILER!) show how the movie connects with 2014's "Godzilla." But the plan is we're going to see another Godzilla movie, "Godzilla: King of the Monsters," in 2019 before "Godzilla vs. Kong" lands in 2020.